Harvested from the gardens at Monticello.The Refugee Bean may be synonymous with the "Switzerland gray" bean Thomas Jefferson sent home from Paris in 1786. Refugee, a snap bean named for the French Huguenots who introduced it into general cultivation, was sold by American seedsmen as early as 1822. Refugee became one of the most widely grown of the green-podded beans well into the 20th -century. The plants exhibit a dwarf habit of short internodes and prolific fruiting close to the main plant with additional productive, twining runners about 3 feet long on a third of the plants. The flowers are deep lavender and the pods are light green mottled with streaks of purple, while the dry beans are tan with dark speckles.Direct sow in rows in fertile garden soil after the last spring frost. Harvest the pods when young and 3-6" long for snap beans. A small yet prolific bush bean with high disease resistance. Approximately 20 seeds per packet.
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